Investigators collected DNA evidence after two Phoenix sexual assaults, one reported in 1997 near 24th Street and Van Buren and another in 2001 near 11th Avenue and Grand. In both cases, women were allegedly taken from city streets, blindfolded in a truck and assaulted, according to ABC15 Arizona.
Investigators linked the cases before identifying a suspect
The DNA evidence eventually connected the two investigations to the same suspect, ABC15 reported, citing Phoenix police. A database entry last year then produced a possible familial match. Investigators followed that lead to a relative who was too young to have committed the assaults, and turned their attention to the relative’s family.
Police obtained Martine Garcia’s DNA through a search warrant and identified him as a suspect in both cases, according to ABC15. Garcia, 66, was arrested in connection with the assaults. Court records cited by the outlet say he worked as a trucker during the years in question; he denied involvement to investigators and questioned the accuracy of the DNA testing. ABC15 reported that he is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. The supplied account does not establish whether he has entered a plea.
Phoenix’s cold-case work provides broader context
The City of Phoenix says its Adult Sex Crimes Cold Case unit was developed in 2000. The unit initially reviewed thousands of unsolved sexual-assault cases for solvability and submitted forensic evidence for scientific analysis. The city’s account does not establish whether Garcia’s cases were handled by that unit: City of Phoenix.
